ALEX Lesson Plans

Title: Twizzler Measurement
Description:
Students will use technology, hands-on interaction, and active participation to compare and measure different heights of objects.
Standard(s): [TC2] (0-2) 8: Use digital environments to exchange ideas with individuals or groups.

Title: Making Measuring Meaningful!
Description:
This activity helps students recognize that measuring tools can come in many different shapes and sizes. The student's will develop creative-thinking, math, and social skills as they use nontraditional and traditional measuring tools.
This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science University, GEMS-U Project.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (1) 18: Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another. [1-MD4]

Subject: English Language Arts (K), or Mathematics (K - 1) Title: Making Measuring Meaningful!Description: This activity helps students recognize that measuring tools can come in many different shapes and sizes. The student's will develop creative-thinking, math, and social skills as they use nontraditional and traditional measuring tools.
This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science University, GEMS-U Project.

Title: Seeds: How They Grow
Description:
The students will be collecting, germinating and planting seeds to show the process of plant growth. The students will be recording the information in their science journal. In addition, the students will be observing the water cycle as the plants grow in the cups.This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science, GEMS Project funded by the Malone Family Foundation.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (2) 17: Measure to determine how much longer one object is than another, expressing the length difference in terms of a standard length unit. [2-MD4]

Subject: English Language Arts (2), or Mathematics (K - 2), or Science (2 - 3) Title: Seeds: How They GrowDescription: The students will be collecting, germinating and planting seeds to show the process of plant growth. The students will be recording the information in their science journal. In addition, the students will be observing the water cycle as the plants grow in the cups.This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science, GEMS Project funded by the Malone Family Foundation.

Title: The Horizons of Soil in My Backyard
Description:
Students will work in small groups to dig holes 1 meter deep. Students will work with measurements as they dig and measure. Students will observe the different types of soil and how the soil changes as they dig. Students will write and draw in their journals about the soil horizons. The need for soil as an important natural resource will be discussed. This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science, GEMS Project, funded by the Malone Family Foundation.
Standard(s): [SS2010] LWT1 (1) 9: Differentiate between natural resources and human-made products.

Subject: Mathematics (K - 2), or Science (2), or Social Studies (1) Title: The Horizons of Soil in My BackyardDescription: Students will work in small groups to dig holes 1 meter deep. Students will work with measurements as they dig and measure. Students will observe the different types of soil and how the soil changes as they dig. Students will write and draw in their journals about the soil horizons. The need for soil as an important natural resource will be discussed. This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science, GEMS Project, funded by the Malone Family Foundation.

Title: It's Your Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Description:
This lesson plan is intended to be used during the month of March when the class is preparing to celebrate Dr. Seuss Day. After listening to and reading different stories by Dr. Seuss, the students have opportunities to compare and contrast story elements through critical thinking and Venn diagrams.
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (3) 3: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. [RL.3.3]

Subject: Character Education (K - 12), or English Language Arts (1 - 3), or Mathematics (K - 2), or Technology Education (K - 5) Title: It's Your Birthday, Dr. Seuss!Description: This lesson plan is intended to be used during the month of March when the class is preparing to celebrate Dr. Seuss Day. After listening to and reading different stories by Dr. Seuss, the students have opportunities to compare and contrast story elements through critical thinking and Venn diagrams.

Title: There's Magic In Green Eggs and Ham
Description:
As a part of a unit about Dr. Suess, students will learn about sequential order. Student understanding will be aided by the use of hands-on preparation of green eggs and ham, dictation, flannel board, sentence strips, and a living center.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (0) 15: Directly compare two objects, with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of" or "less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. [K-MD2]

Subject: English Language Arts (K), or Mathematics (K) Title: There's Magic In Green Eggs and HamDescription: As a part of a unit about Dr. Suess, students will learn about sequential order. Student understanding will be aided by the use of hands-on preparation of green eggs and ham, dictation, flannel board, sentence strips, and a living center.

Title: What do Plants Need?
Description:
In this lesson, students will understand that in order to grow healthy plants, soil, water, light, and air must be provided. Students will use math skills such as measurement and science process skills such as observation, comparing, and recording data.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (2) 23: Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple put-together, take-apart, and compare problems using information presented in a bar graph. (See Appendix A, Table 1.) [2-MD10]

Subject: Mathematics (K - 3), or Science (3) Title: What do Plants Need?Description: In this lesson, students will understand that in order to grow healthy plants, soil, water, light, and air must be provided. Students will use math skills such as measurement and science process skills such as observation, comparing, and recording data.

Thinkfinity Lesson Plans

Title: How Big Is Your Heart?
Description:
In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students explore the size of their hearts. They do this by measuring the length, width, and circumference of their fists and relating this to the size of their hearts.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (2) 26: Partition circles and rectangles into two, three, or four equal shares; describe the shares using the words halves, thirds, half of, a third of, etc.; and describe the whole as two halves, three thirds, or four fourths. Recognize that equal shares of identical wholes need not have the same shape. [2-G3]

Subject: Mathematics,ScienceTitle: How Big Is Your Heart?Description: In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students explore the size of their hearts. They do this by measuring the length, width, and circumference of their fists and relating this to the size of their hearts.Thinkfinity Partner: IlluminationsGrade Span: K,PreK,1,2

Title: Estimation and Measurement
Description:
In this Science NetLinks lesson, students are introduced to the concept of units of measurement. Students first measure with the idea of units in mind and are then challenged to consider why it is important to have standardized units of measurement. Then they measure with standardized units and compare results with one another.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (0) 16: Classify objects into given categories; count the number of objects in each category, and sort the categories by count. (Limit category counts to be less than or equal to 10.) [K-MD3]

Subject: MathematicsTitle: Estimation and MeasurementDescription: In this Science NetLinks lesson, students are introduced to the concept of units of measurement. Students first measure with the idea of units in mind and are then challenged to consider why it is important to have standardized units of measurement. Then they measure with standardized units and compare results with one another.Thinkfinity Partner: Science NetLinksGrade Span: K,1,2

Title: Learning to Measure with Ladybug
Description:
This lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, focuses on geometric concepts, location, navigation, direction, spatial relationships and measurement concepts, using nonstandard units to measure a distance, and the iteration of units. Students practice measuring with multiple units and a single unit, following methods modeled by the teacher.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (0) 15: Directly compare two objects, with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of" or "less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. [K-MD2]

Subject: Mathematics,Social StudiesTitle: Learning to Measure with LadybugDescription: This lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, focuses on geometric concepts, location, navigation, direction, spatial relationships and measurement concepts, using nonstandard units to measure a distance, and the iteration of units. Students practice measuring with multiple units and a single unit, following methods modeled by the teacher.Thinkfinity Partner: IlluminationsGrade Span: K,PreK,1,2

Title: Judge and Jury
Description:
In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students participate in activities in which they focus on the uses of numbers. The activities use the theme of games to develop concepts of measurement and statistics. Students are asked to measure distances using standard and nonstandard units and to record their measurement in various tables. Then use descriptive statistics to report the results.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (1) 18: Organize, represent, and interpret data with up to three categories; ask and answer questions about the total number of data points, how many in each category, and how many more or less are in one category than in another. [1-MD4]

Subject: MathematicsTitle: Judge and JuryDescription: In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students participate in activities in which they focus on the uses of numbers. The activities use the theme of games to develop concepts of measurement and statistics. Students are asked to measure distances using standard and nonstandard units and to record their measurement in various tables. Then use descriptive statistics to report the results.Thinkfinity Partner: IlluminationsGrade Span: K,PreK,1,2

Title: Measuring with Our Foot
Description:
In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students measure distances using an outline cutout of their own foot. This enables students to practice using nonstandard units and to compare the measurement totals using their feet and the teacher s foot (used in a previous lesson).
Standard(s): [MA2013] (0) 16: Classify objects into given categories; count the number of objects in each category, and sort the categories by count. (Limit category counts to be less than or equal to 10.) [K-MD3]

Subject: MathematicsTitle: Measuring with Our FootDescription: In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from Illuminations, students measure distances using an outline cutout of their own foot. This enables students to practice using nonstandard units and to compare the measurement totals using their feet and the teacher s foot (used in a previous lesson).Thinkfinity Partner: IlluminationsGrade Span: K,PreK,1,2

Web Resources

Lesson Plans

Title: Comparing Weight: Lighter or Heavier
Description:
The purpose of this lesson plan is for students to compare light and heavy and use the terms lighter, heavier, lighter than, and heavier than.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (0) 15: Directly compare two objects, with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of" or "less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. [K-MD2]

Comparing Weight: Lighter or Heavierhttp://school.family...
The purpose of this lesson plan is for students to compare light and heavy and use the terms lighter, heavier, lighter than, and heavier than.

Title: Illuminations: Magnificent Measurement
Description:
This Illuminations lesson introduces and provides practice with the measurable attributes of weight.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (0) 15: Directly compare two objects, with a measurable attribute in common, to see which object has "more of" or "less of" the attribute, and describe the difference. [K-MD2]

Informational Materials

Title: Teach Your Child How to Use a Ruler
Description:
This page tells parents and teachers how to teach kids to compare and contrast in measurable terms.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (1) 16: Express the length of an object as a whole number of length units by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end; understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units that span it with no gaps or overlaps. Limit to contexts where the object being measured is spanned by a whole number of length units with no gaps or overlaps. [1-MD2]

Learning Activities

Title: Inches and Feet
Description:
You will find a variety of information on this page related to customary and nonstandard units of measurement.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (2) 16: Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and meters. [2-MD3]

Thinkfinity Learning Activities

Title: Illuminations Activities
Description:
This Web page, from Illuminations, allows users to access all of Illuminations' online, interactive activities. The activities span the grades and encompass all areas of mathematics.
Standard(s): [MA2013] (2) 14: Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes. [2-MD1]